Skip to main content

Review: The Flint Heart

The Flint Heart
By Katherine Paterson and John Paterson
Illustrated by John Rocco
Out now!
Review copy from my library

I was not sure I would enjoy this one, as anyone who knows me knows that my tolerance for fairies (or pixies or brownies) is minimal.

This is a charmer, however. From the moment the story first begins, in the Stone Age, I was transfixed.
I do love how the story remains constantly intelligent: there are words in the story I needed to look up.

"So the message was sent, the charades were acted, and the cold collation eaten." (271)



This is a story that does not "talk down" to to children, and in fact, forces them to ponder such things as whether or not it is wise to consider the Point of View of someone else, the value of a hot-water bottle (made in Germany), and what could make a simple, kind person decide to make it their mission in life to be in charge of everything and every one. The tale reminded me very much of Alice in Wonderland, or Bedknobs and Broomsticks-stories for children that were smart and important enough for adults to read as well. I predict major awards are in this book's future.
My only complaint, and it is very minor, is that I wished for more illustrations! They seemed very few and far between. The bits that are in there are very special and lovely.










Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Attention Lucky Leprechauns.....

Whoo hoo! Time for some lucky, Irish fun. One lucky, lucky person will win a $25 gift card to Amazon to spend on whatever your little heart desires. Rules: Fill out the form. Comments and follows are not required, but sure are nice! US only, I am just too new at this to attempt International at this point. Check out all of the blogs on the hop! There are loads of chances to win some great stuff. Thank you for entering, and please feel free to stop back and visit me anytime! Contest open: March 17, 2011 to March 20, 2011. Winner will be notified on the 21st by email. Hop to here to see the list of participating blogs! Loading...

My First Ever Giveaway!!!!!

It is time to give back, my friends! I've been plotting this one for a while and the time is here. I give you: My First Giveaway!!! Here's what's up for grabs: One autographed copy of Blessed by Cynthia Leitich Smith and one advanced reader copy of The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa. I know! I'm excited too!!! Here are the rules: 1. Open to US peeps only (sorry! Broke grad student here) 2. The giveaway is open from 2/13/11 to 2/20/11 because I hate long giveaways. 3. I will email the winner on 2/21/11 and they will have 48 hours to reply or a new winner will be chosen. 4. Random.org will pick the winner. 5. No extra entries (everyone is equal in my eyes). 6. Fill out the form to win!!! Following and comments are not required for the giveaway, but sure are appreciated! Loading...

Teddy Bear Storytime

Tonight's storytime followed the same format I use for all of my day storytimes as I have temporarily suspended my idea of doing storytime in reverse in order to get the kids sleepy. They only seem to run out into the library to pick out movies and books and the effect is lost. So here is what we did tonight. Our theme was teddy bears, but our night storytime is always wear jammies, bring a lovey, and low action. My opening song is Hello Bubbles which I learned from Read Sing Play here . BTW this woman is a storytime goddess and I have picked up many great ideas on her blog. Story the 1st: The Red Hat by Lita Judge  Why? Because I want to get across to my kids that books do not always have to have words in order for us to "read" them, and I want to give pre-readers a chance to feel proud they finished a book on their own. I plan to try to read or highlight at least one wordless read for the next couple of storytimes. Flannel Board: Ten in the Bed I used a mod...